THE LAST FIGHT
Seattle
July 2041
Another two weeks passed, July 17th and the deadline were getting closer and closer. Everyone was nervous and every day the nervousness increased. Seth and Gray had become closer during this time, they regularly disappeared to the second floor and when they reappeared, a reddish glow would always appear over Seth's nose. Alec and Max had settled into their new role together as parents of two great, almost grown-up young men, they still didn't often agree and argued in the usual way, but they radiated a togetherness that everyone immediately noticed and admired. After many long conversations, Nika and Ben had decided to go through with it months ago and Nika now had an enormous curve that clearly showed that her child wasn't going to be long in coming. Despite all the circumstances, their lives were taking a wonderful direction that no one thought was possible, but there was still this shadow hanging over them that descended like a fog every day and weighed on their mood. They had already talked about it a few times but by now it was clear to everyone that the Familiars wouldn't be coming to welcome their new leader but it was up to them to figure out when they would gather and that's exactly when they had to be there.
Mole unconsciously came up with the solution.
"The X7s are spinning again, the stupid full moon is bothering the bats."
At that moment the scales fell from Max's eyes. The full moon! The former fortress! That had to be it. The Familiars wouldn't announce themselves or anything like that, they would install the new head of their conclave there in this sacred place and with that Ben's chance would be lost.
"We have to act," Max whispered.
She looked up and directly into Alec's eyes. He nodded at her in agreement. Of course he heard what she said. He immediately took control and called the others. She looked for the map where she could show everyone where exactly her plan was supposed to take place. But the maps were new and the area had changed a lot in recent years, so planning was a little more difficult than expected because on the new maps the buildings and facilities at that time were only shown as green spaces.
"What's wrong Mom?"
Max didn't react.
"Mom"?
Max looked up. Ben stood in front of her. She shook her head internally. MUM. She still had to get used to that.
"What do you need? Is everything ok?"
"Mum, I think I can help you."
Ben was standing there and only now did she notice that he was holding something out to her. She picked up the piece of paper and looked at it.
"Ben, can you read minds? You are amazing!"
Max was suddenly completely excited and hugged her second-born to him in thanks. Then she jumped enthusiastically to the table and immediately dived into a kind of tunnel. She moved everything around on the table, sorted things wordlessly, wrote notes for everyone around, initially incoherently, until she supported herself with both hands on the edge of the table and took a deep breath. Everyone looked at the table and little by little the others realized what had happened here. The battle plan.
Everything was put together and even the division of the groups was visible.
The old map in the middle of the table.
"It's a good thing I got the old thing out of the drawer when I did."
Ben took a closer look at the old map for the first time today and realized that this old thing was exactly what was missing here.
"And when does the party start"?
Alec reacted with his usual calmness even though he was seething with fear for Ben.
"Tonight!"
Max said it firmly but quietly. Everyone fell silent and looked at her. It was clear to everyone that this was the battle, the final battle.
Mole just went to distribute the further plans among the community. Everyone had helped and the stakes, their preferences and their special characteristics had been recorded and incorporated into every step. They had used the time over the last two weeks and prepared everything so that they could be operational quickly.
And now it was already late afternoon. In a few hours they would be on their way when a honking at the gate to the TC alerted them.
Max jumped up and went to the Dix to find out who was requesting access there. She was astonished. Ramon and Arya.
"Mom, Dad!"
Yara just jumped to the gate to open it as if she had been waiting for this moment before Max could even say a word to it and the former police officer and his wife were already driving onto the premises.
"Max, Alec, I would say it's nice to see you, but I would also like to spank you for not dragging your daughter into this," she greeted Ramon.
"Excuse me, that's more on me."
Seth stepped forward, looked down, and waited for thunder to strike. At the same moment he felt someone step behind him, he felt security and managed to raise his eyes again. He could smell the warm, woody scent of Gray behind him. Ramon approached him.
"Boy, your parents have always been the spawn of chaos and to be honest, I've gotten used to it. Yara has a mind of her own and from what I have learned, you are in no way inferior to each other. We've been talking on the phone for some time now and I know how things are here. I'll get straight to the point. I see you're happy so let's leave it alone. We are here to support and I have already informed the police station as far as possible and tonight everyone from the cult that you can catch will be taken away by a hundred."
"Ramon, as always, you are the support that is there at the right moment," Max put a hand on his arm and nodded his thanks. Ramon looked at her and after he had just fallen into the house with the door, he sat down and took a deep breath. But only one breath and Yara flew into his arms with her typical impetuous energy.
"Thanks Dad, you're the best."
"It's nice to see you, my little one," turning to the others, he added, "Then let's get started."
Everyone was quickly able to concentrate on their work again. Mole went to look at the vehicles that were available to them and a fleet was quickly set up that was impressive.
Joshua and Yannik distributed food to everyone who gradually gathered in the hall and got ready.
Luke and Dix were furiously printing out the instructions for each group and Boaz, Oliver and Jack were handing out the papers. Harper, Aiden, Carson, Madison and Chad had set up stations where they handed out clothes, boots and weapons to everyone after indicating their area of operation. The trove of old Manticore clothing and equipment finally came in handy.
The divided groups then left the hall and were distributed to the vehicles by Mole and sorted again according to area of operation and task. The education of their past made it easier to endure all these actions without worrying about what was coming because they were essentially walking towards something they had no idea about anyway.
Alec stood in the middle of the hall with Max at his side and both of them conducted each of these steps with short commands as they had learned from childhood. Max looked over at Alec and saw in his eyes the uncertainty that only she could see, that he wouldn't reveal to anyone else. Between two commands she turned briefly on her own axis and breathed a tender kiss on his cheek. At the same moment, his usual mischievous nature flared up again and she knew he had caught himself. Max felt that she had felt this connection for a very, very long time and this small moment sealed her feeling that she was doing the right thing.
Gray came up to her:
"We are ready, everything is ready, Ben and Seth are going with me".
The time had come, the vehicles were occupied and there was a concentrated silence. Everyone stared ahead, in silence, on the way to this final battle.
They set off in a convoy, into the uncertain future of this approaching night.
It took a while and night fell over the convoy of vehicles, light after light, the line of vehicles rushed across the street towards their destination.
One vehicle after another turned into the back roads of the forest. Everyone had their route and everyone knew what position they had to fulfill at the arrival point.
Max, Alec and their family, including Joshua, parked in a small clearing not far from the ruins, which were still there as they were after the explosion, just a little overgrown with weeds. The map showed the old access roads, which were now also overgrown and disused. One or more vehicles were positioned at each of the access roads arranged in a star shape around the area. The troops jumped out of the loading areas and spread out behind the tree line with the best view of the area and fully prepared to storm. They signaled with a brief flash of a flashlight that they were ready to go.
Max registered one position after the other and when everyone was at their post she also gave the signal to wait for the start order. They lay in wait and a few minutes later a few shadows began to move around the property.
There were more and more shadows and Max watched with increasing tension as more and more of these shadows appeared in the dark. She knew where these shadows came from, the tunnels to the estate were also monitored by her troops and the reports were now coming to her cell phone every second.
She was just looking at the screen and saw that the limousines with the higher-ups had arrived at one of the tunnels when, out of nowhere, everything became bright. She ducked down with the presence of mind and at the same time her fingers typed the message to Alec and Ben. The two of them were the main people of the campaign and she wanted to provide security with the support of the entire transgenic community.
The fire that had just lit up the entire place blazed several meters high, which now made it clear that not only a few of the cult but now a very large number of these bastards had arrived. Like back then. Familiar images flashed through her mind. Back then it was a woman with white chalk makeup standing on a pedestal with a snake. The High Priestess. Five people stood in front of it, young men, she assumed, with robes and hoods and bowed heads. It seemed like these were the contenders.
The priestess performed a mystical ritual that sent shivers down Seth's spine at his post. Gray grabbed his hand and squeezed it as if he sensed what was going on with his partner. Seth looked at him gratefully and now concentrated on the task at hand.
The High Priestess fell silent and the candidates took a step towards her elevated position.
"Gooooooo"!
Max shouted it out and everyone, the cult members as well as the transgenics, heard her call.
But it wasn't Max they looked at then, it was Ben.
He walked slowly and deliberately, but erect and with a confidence that surprised even Alec, towards the High Priestess. Alec followed him and supported him.
When they reached the circle of familiars they stopped.
"I bring you the rightful contender for leadership of the conclave."
Alec had taken a step in front of Ben and was looking straight ahead without lowering his gaze.
The high priestess motioned for the two of them to make room. A path opened up between the cult followers and Alec pushed Ben through it ahead of him. He felt every muscle in the teenager tense, how he trembled slightly, and he instinctively reached for Ben's shoulder with one hand. He pushed Ben lightly but also made him aware that his father, he, Alec, was here. Ben relaxed and continued forward with his eyes trained straight on the High Priestess.
Once there, he stood next to the other candidates and looked down. Alec now took a step back but stayed right behind Ben.
The High Priestess walked down the steps and toward Ben. She pulled a blade from her cloak and at the same moment a murmur went through the cult. She looked up briefly and couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes. The troops had emerged from the forest around the cult. Flashes of light signaled that everyone had taken up positions in the forest and also on the driveways and at the tunnel entrances.
Alec raised his hand. He looked at the High Priestess and nodded to her. She took Ben by the hand and led him to the podium where she scratched his hand over a bowl. Then she walked along the rest of the candidates and each of those standing there also handed her a bowl with drops of blood in it. She carefully placed the bowls next to each other and performed another ritual with the snake before grabbing the snake's head and cutting it off with one blow. The snake's blood gushed out and was distributed among the bowls. Afterwards the high priestess went down, lit a small torch on the large fire in the middle of the square and solemnly went back. Up there she held the torch over the bowls. Nothing happened. But when she held the torch over Ben's bowl, it was as if gas was pouring out of the bowl. The flame of the torch literally shot up and burned with a brightness that almost blinded her. She almost backed away, but caught herself and looked straight at Ben.
"So you, transgenetically built, want to be a contender"?
"I wasn't built. I was conceived and born like a human being, I am the one this cult has always tried to create".
The support of all his transgenic friends and family was clearly felt and now also heard. Howls, growls, screams, every imaginable type of noise depending on the lineage became louder and louder. The cult members were already getting nervous. Alec still held his hand up to keep the troops ready to fight but still prevent them from attacking. Everyone in this community was peace-loving and not a single one would willingly risk provoking a fight. So it remained to warn behind their young hero and support him.
Ben took a deep breath and climbed onto the stage to join the priestess. Alec took a step behind but was immediately stopped from going further by cult followers. Ben looked down and nodded at him, which calmed Alec down a bit so that he didn't resist and also kept the troops from attacking. A wave of Alec's hand and the entire force would descend on the conclave. They were slightly outnumbered but they knew who they were dealing with. The young people from the shared apartment and of course Max, Alec, Mole and Joshua had already clashed with one or two of these villains and they neither fought fairly nor were they weak.
Ben pulled the two amulets out from under his sweater. He slipped the leather straps over his head and dangled them in front of him. The priestess visibly froze.
Once again a murmur went through those around the cult. Ben forced himself to stand there, proud and tall, in front of her. He showed no emotion but he could hear his heart beating. It almost rumbled out of his chest.
The priestess picked up the two stones and looked at them. They lay in her palm as she looked at them in silence.
"Fakes, they have to be fakes," the cult followers whispered.
Alec lowered his hand a little, motioning for the back guard to come closer. The familiars immediately fell silent and the priestess looked punitively into their ranks. She held up the stones with a loud scream.
Everyone held their breath, expecting a fight in the next second. The priestess, however, now murmured imploring words. She then let the stones slide into the bowl and once again a jet of flame shot up from it.
She grabbed the bowl and handed it to Ben. A strange, blazing flame burned in the bowl and illuminated Ben's face. Instinctively he knew what to do.
He took a step forward to the edge of the dais and said:
"Imperate electo. Subicite electo!…The Chosen One commands you. Submit yourselves to the chosen one"!
They were the memorized words that Joshua had told them after seeing Seth's skin markings and everyone hoped it was what was expected.
Ben himself held his breath after saying the words loud and clear, preparing to fight if they didn't have the desired effect.
But he continued to look around and didn't lower his gaze.
The High Priestess was the first to respond. She sank to her knees and bowed her head in front of Ben. The rest of the cult followed suit. When all the cultists had knelt, the priestess stood up and walked towards Ben.
"You demand leadership? That's how it should be! There is still one hurdle to overcome before we recognize your inheritance. In addition to the signs, the words, show us your choice of partner. She too has to prove her worthiness."
This wasn't what Ben was expecting, but when he looked up again he saw a person break away from the crowd. Nika approached him slowly and uncertainly.
Once again the priestess was surprised, shocked would have been the best way to describe her expression.
Nika crossed the conclave and, with an incredible and, for Ben, overwhelming certainty, came to his side and took his hand. They now stood together in front of the priestess, who looked at Nika's curves with a horror that made Ben find new security.
"It is she, she is my mate and she is carrying our child".
He was surprised at his choice of words but he knew that he had to show himself strong and worthy in this moment.
The priestess fell to her knees again. This time she fell down on both knees and touched her forehead to the ground at Ben and Nika's feet.
In that moment it was clear. The leadership of the conclave went to Nika and Ben.
A cheer rang out, wild cries of joy and an almost relaxed atmosphere arose at the edge of the forest until everyone fell silent and the sirens wailed in the surrounding area. The conclave spun on its own axis but they could not escape. They knew they were beaten. The hundred police drove up and under the protection of the transgenics all the bastards of the cult were taken away.
No fight, no blood, that was the end of the cult. They couldn't believe it, but a deep tension was released from them. The police drove away with the club members. So that was it. Here and now they were free.
Joshua howled, jumped to the stage and did a kind of dance that seemed like the starting signal to everyone. Everything came loose. There was singing in some places, laughter and cries of joy. Alec slowly walked up to Max, picked her up and kissed her passionately.
Gray and Seth were in each other's arms and Ben was on stage with Nika. They looked hand in hand over the wild group. They enjoyed the view and the evening was almost perfect.
Ben turned to Nika:
"Do you want me…oh…I think I'll ask that again later."
Ben looked at her in shock.
Nika knew what he wanted to ask.
"Yes I do".
She answered just before the first contraction hit her like a hurricane and she couldn't suppress her first strangled scream.